Reena Roy was born on 7 January, 1957 to a Muslim father and a Hindu mother, who separated later. She started her career in films while she was in her teens with B R Ishara’s Nayi Duniya Naye Log (1973) which could not be released for some time. He then made another film Zaroorat (1972) with Reena Roy, Danny Denzongpa and Vijay Arora, all three new-comers. It was a bold film for its times and though Reena Roy got noticed she did not get good roles for some time. Her films Jungle Mein Mangal (1972), Madhosh (1974), Goonj (1974), Umar Qaid (1975) and Rani Aur Lalpari (1975) did moderately well.

But Roy’s big break came with Jaise Ko Taisa (1973) opposite Jeetendra. The song “Abke sawan” which featured a dance in the rain went on to become quite popular.

Her next major film was Kaalicharan (1976). It was the directorial debut of Subhash Ghai and Shatrughan Sinha, who played negative roles, was to mark his entry as the hero for the first time. The film was a surprise hit and the audience appreciated the Reena Roy- Shatrughan Sinha pair. This led to Zakhmee (1975) and Rajkumar Kohli’s Nagin (1976) with Sunil Dutt. The film was a huge hit and established Reena as one of the top actresses of the time in league with Rekha, Zeenat Aman, Parveen Babi and Rakhee.

The Kohli and Roy team worked together in several hits including Jaani Dushman (1979), Muqabla (1979), Badle Ki Aag (1982) and Raaj Tilak (1984). Reena started to climb the ladder of success further and she worked with Jeetendra in more than a dozen films and gave several hits and super hits including Badaltey Rishte (1978) and Pyaasa Sawan (1982). Their films Apnapan (1977), Aasha (1980) and Arpan (1983) were classics that are known for great performances by Reena Roy in challenging roles and won her critical appreciation.1982 marked a significant year in her career as Reena had thirteen releases back to back which ruled the box-office collections. During this time, she got the opportunity to work with famous actors like Rajesh Khanna, Sanjeev Kumar, Dharmendra and Amitabh Bachchan.

She proved herself to be a versatile actress with different films that included Naseeb (1981), Ladies Tailor (1981), Rocky (1981), Dhanwan (1981), Haathkadi (1982), Lakshmi (1982), Bezubaan (1982), Sanam Teri Kasam (1982) and Dharam Kanta (1982).

Some of the last few films that she is remembered for after her marriage to Pakistani cricketer Mohsin Khan in 1983 are Asha Jyoti (1984), Hum Dono (1985) and Ghulami (1985).

Reena has a daughter named Sanam Khan. She separated from her husband and had to wait for some years until she could get the custody of her daughter.

She made her comeback in films with Aadmi Khilona Hai (1993) and did a couple of films thereafter. Her last appearance was in the film Refugee (2000).

She started an acting school with her sister Barkha Roy which has been running since 2004. Recently Reena associated herself with politics when she campaigned for the Congress Party.